Major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange UPbit is once again allowing new users to make deposits in Korean won.
The exchange has joined hands with South Korea’s first internet bank KBank to restart the service from Tuesday.
This comes two and half years since UPBit’s previous partner, the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), suspended issuing to users new real-name accounts to deposit and withdraw money
UPBit users with existing IBK accounts will need to convert to KBank accounts. The service is limited to local Korean users; existing foreign users will need to complete their Korean won transactions by July 24, when IBK stops providing account support.
To boost the stability of the new system, UPbit will open the service to new users through a reservation system, though local users with significant transaction histories will be automatically approved without a reservation.
To use the service, applicants first need to open an account under their own name at KBank.
The move is part of a larger strategic partnership between UPbit and KBank to target the digital asset-based fintech market.
UPbit needs a partner bank to provide real name bank accounts to allow Korean won withdrawals and deposits, while KBank needs capital and customers for its competition with rival internet bank KakaoBank.
Accordingly, the two sides hope to generate some synergy through collaborative efforts to mitigate each other’s Achilles heel.
Also in the Korean blockchain space…
(Written by Felipe Erazo, Cointelegraph, June 20)
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(By Will Heasman, Decrypt, June 16)
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